Closet-cover



(No Model.)

J. B. BIGELOW.

GLOS ET COVER. I N0. 451,907. I Patented May 12, 1891.

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rrno TATES [ATENT CLOSET-COVER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 451,907, dated May 12, 1891.

Applicationfilecl December 16, 1890- $erial No.3'74,936. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it 77t6tZ/ concern:

Be it known that I, JEROME B. BIGELOW, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cuba, in the county of Allegany and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Closet Covers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to water or other closets, and has for its object such improvement in their construction as will by the automatic closing of the receptacle prevent the escape of offensive odors and injurious gases and the accidental dropping of valuable articles into the closet; and it consists in the several details of construction and arrangement of parts, as will be fully set forth in the following specification, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective View, partly broken away, of my improved closet. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the under side of the seat and my improved attachment. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line a: of Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding partsin each figure of the drawings.

A represents the outer box or casing of an ordinary water-closet, dry closet, or com mode, andB is the lid hinged at b to the top of the casing G in the ordinary manner.

Beneath the lid B and top casing G there is a stationary top F, that extends over the entire upper part and rests upon the vertical sides of the casing A. This top has an opening in its center that corresponds with the one in the lid above, and has a lateral slot f near its front edge, through which means is applied for operating shutters below.

Under the front and rear parts of the top F there are cleats c,secured to the vertical portions of the casing, forming ways upon the cleats and under the top in which shutters O are placed, which are adapted to slide freely to open and close the opening in the top F above.

To the outer edge of each shutteris attached one end 9 of a coil-spring D, the other end d of which is attached to the under side of the top F of the fixed upper portion of the casing. The normal tendency of these springs is to force the two shutters together, as shown in Fi 1.

lhe inner or meeting edges of the shutters C are preferably rabbeted, as shown at e in Fig. 1, and may be faced with soft elastic cushions-as rubber or feltif desired, so that when forced together they will overlap and form a tight joint.

Rods E are hinged at one end to the under side of the seat B at opposite sides thereof, their other endsbeingorossed and passed down through a slot f in the top F and hinged to the top of the front ends of the sliding shutters C, so that each rod forms an oblique connection between the seat and one of the shutters. By this arrangement when the shutters are closed by the springs D the seat will be forced upward a short distance, as shown in Fig. 1. hen pressure is brought to bear on the seat B, as in the use of the closet, the

rods E, by their oblique connection to the seat I and shutters, will force the shutters apart against the tension of the springs, and when the seat is down the rods will assume substantially a horizontal position in the groove f, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2. On removing the pressure from the seat the springs will again force the shutters together, closing the opening in the top and elevating theseat.

This device may not only be applied to ordinary water or dry closets or to commodes, but may also be used in connection with the hoppers usually found in railway-cars, and when either of well-known devices for closing the bottom of such hoppers is used the application of my improvement would enable the hoppers to be used while the car is at a standstill in a station or in a depot without causing any offensive odor in the car. This would render unnecessary the usual practice of looking the retiring-rooms of the car ,in the depot and which is often a source of great discomfort to passengers who prefer to remain on the cars.

Another advantage of my device is that the opening of the closet is automatically closed and sealed by the lapped shutters as soon as the lid is relieved from pressure and iskept closed, overcominga general tendency of many persons to neglect to use an ordinary cover when one is provided, and also to prevent articles that are carelessly dropped from falling into the receptacle when the seat is uncovered, resulting in the loss of valuables that by myimproved means of closing the receptacle are saved.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a closet, the combination of a movable seat, spring-actuated sliding shutters below the seat, and cross-rods forming an oblique connection between the seat and the shutters, whereby the shutters are opened on compressing the seat, as and for the purpose set forth.

JEROME 13. BIGELO\V.

Witnesses:

II. E. BosTWIoK, WM. F. OLDHAM. 

